John Oliver Confronted Dustin Hoffman Over Harassment Allegations

Things got testy between Dustin Hoffman and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver at an anniversary screening of Wag the Dog after Oliver brought up the sexual harassment allegations that had recently been leveled against the star. According to press who were present, Hoffman refused to answer any questions about the alleged incident — which took place during shooting of the TV movie Death of a Salesman in 1985 — and accused Oliver of “unquestionably believing accusers.”

Oliver’s question was about a recent Hollywood Reporter guest column written by Anna Graham Hunter titled “Dustin Hoffman Sexually Harassed Me When I Was 17.” In the piece, Hunter describes Hoffman’s inappropriate behavior towards her while she was a production assistant on Death of a Salesman. According to The Washington Post’s Steven Zeitchik, as soon as Oliver asked Hoffman about the allegations, Hoffman “grew visibly uncomfortable” and accused Oliver of not keeping an “open mind.”

Things got so bad that members of the audience began to argue about whether it was appropriate for Oliver to have asked about the alleged incident in the first place.

Hunter’s column for THR is taken from her letters to her sister detailing day-to-day interactions on the Death of a Salesman set, and a pattern of predatory behavior from Hoffman that continued for weeks. “Yes,” she wrote, “I loved the attention from Dustin Hoffman. Until I didn’t.”